Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd — Q3 FY26
Akums delivered a strong Q3 FY26 with operating revenue of ₹1,160 crore (+14.8% YoY) and EBITDA of ₹147 crore (+21% YoY), driven by 16% volume growth in CDMO and recovery in int...
bullish
high
✓ Verified against BSE filing
Claim Ledger
Did management answer the analysts?
Every material analyst question, graded on whether management actually answered it — with the verbatim exchange and quantitative claims checked against filed numbers.
88%Questions answered0Evaded / deflected12Questions auditedContradictedNumbers vs filing
Answered
High priority
What drove CDMO volume growth this quarter?
Asked by Abdul Kadar Puranwala, ICICI Securities
Management explained volume growth was broad-based and provided gross margin comparison.
Read the exchange
Question
My first question is pertaining to your CDM growth especially on the volumes front uh this quarter. So, so could you help us uh understand you know just a little better?
Sahel (management)
So Abdul so this was broad-based right? So existing customers whether through existing brands new brands existing channels so across therapies. ... this came at a similar gross margin profile so roughly 37% plus was the gross margin profile uh for uh the CDMO business which is also better than 36.6% which was for last Q3
Answered
Medium priority
Is margin focus more important than topline for domestic branded?
Asked by Abdul Kadar Puranwala, ICICI Securities
Management confirmed margin focus over topline growth for domestic branded segment.
Read the exchange
Question
So you know this particular segment has been growing at the single digit kind of a growth rate but the margins have improved. So just uh you know wanted to understand uh you know how are we trying to work on this I mean is margin a better focus here rather than topline growth.
Sahel (management)
So Abil so this is in line with what our overall uh strategy for the fiscal had been right. So topline growth was not a key driver for us. It was how do we improve our profitability in this business, right?
Answered
High priority
How big is the EU oral solid opportunity and revenue classification?
Asked by Abdul Kadar Puranwala, ICICI Securities
Management provided revenue size and classification for EU contract.
Read the exchange
Question
So when you're talking about uh you know oral solid formulations, so how big is this opportunity and uh is this also a part of your uh CDMO business only when you're recording revenues here?
Sahel (management)
So since we are manufacturing a brand uh owned by someone else, so it will be classified under CDMO, right? ... this will largely be uh 35 million euro annually for us
Answered
High priority
Is CDMO volume growth sustainable or one-off?
Asked by Vivek Agarwal, Chitty Group
Management gave visibility of double-digit volume growth in Q4, indicating sustainability.
Read the exchange
Question
So is it a kind of a uh one-off kind of situation or how sustainable actually uh if you can help understand the current performance uh as far as the volume growth is concerned can it sustain the next uh few quarters few years as well.
Sahel (management)
First of all the CDMO is a make to order uh right? So we cannot stock the stock quarterly right? So it's a make to order. So it's market driven. Secondly on sustenance since we are uh already have a visibility of Q4 in Q4 as well we see a double digit volume growth.
Partial answer
Medium priority
What changed to drive volume growth after years of challenges?
Asked by Vivek Agarwal, Chitty Group
Management gave possible reasons but admitted they don't know exact causes.
speculative reasonsno concrete data
Read the exchange
Question
So if you look at uh last uh one to two years right so the volumes uh across the industry as well as for the company right so it was under problem ... what has changed uh in this particular quarter if you can highlight
Sahel (management)
I think there are two things ... First and foremost is there might be some play of enforced regulations being uh stricter. ... the second ... is also the play across generic side. ... the branded business also saw good volume growth so it's an overall volume growth across all therapeutic areas
Partial answer
Medium priority
What is the margin trajectory for CDMO over next 3-4 quarters?
Asked by Vivek Agarwal, Chitty Group
Management said margins are predictable but gave no specific trajectory or target.
no specific margin guidanceaspirational language
Read the exchange
Question
But if you look at the margins right ... it is still below ... close to around 170 180 basis point. So how you see the margin trajectory uh going forward maybe next uh three four quarters.
Sahel (management)
So the gross margins we have been able to have a good gross margin profile. We were largely at 36 odd% which means we have moved 37 uh 345%. ... these current level of margins are ones which looks uh um predictable in the near term.
Answered
High priority
Timelines and margin outlook for Zambia and EU CDMO contracts.
Asked by Madhav Marda, FIL
Management provided specific revenue and margin guidance for both contracts.
Read the exchange
Question
Could you give an update on the timelines when we expect the business to start ramping up and uh both the revenue and margin outlook could be in the next couple of years?
Sahel (management)
So Zambia we expect ... in H1 we should expect the supplies of $25 million ... from the Indian company to the Zambia. ... on the European contract ... we'll start with the regulatory filings ... might take uh an year or so. ... this will slightly be better from the existing 13% of CDMO margins but will remain in the teens only.
Answered
Medium priority
How has international branded segment recovered from disruptions?
Asked by Ishkit Naredi, Nared Investments
Management gave specific revenue and margin improvement figures.
Read the exchange
Question
Can you please elaborate on marketwise performance in international branded segment? Uh I recall we had a disruption in some markets. How have they recovered?
Sahel (management)
So if you see we have almost double our revenue from Q right. ... the markets have performed well most of the important markets ... we were operating at a 25% uh gross margins which we have expanded to 35 odd% uh in this quarter
Answered
Medium priority
What are the margins for Zambia contract and how will they change?
Asked by Ishkit Naredi, Nared Investments
Management provided specific margin range for Zambia contract.
Read the exchange
Question
What are the margins for Zambia contract currently how will they change once the plant is set up in Zambia
Sahel (management)
So as you said this this will remain in teams so largely 15 17 odd percent is what we expect ... this will certainly be couple of margin points above than a CDMO business
Partial answer
High priority
What drove market share gain in CDMO despite low industry growth?
Asked by Sangeita P, Kojito
Management acknowledged they don't know exact reasons for market share gain.
admitted lack of precise causespeculative
Read the exchange
Question
You've mentioned in the presentation that the market growth was about 1 and a.5%. But your volume growth has been significantly higher which means that you've probably gained a lot of market share. ... if you could give some color
Sahel (management)
This has been a broad uh volume growth which we saw across client base across therapy areas. ... we don't exactly know the causes to be honest what drove it it could be uh a higher confidence ... that our existing partners have shown in us.
Answered
Medium priority
Does the percentage-based pricing model apply to European contracts?
Asked by Sangeita P, Kojito
Management clearly stated European contract uses fixed pricing, not percentage-based.
Read the exchange
Question
Does the same formula apply for your European partners also?
Sahel (management)
For the Europe, it's a fixed pricing which we have currently agreed for this particular contract.
Answered
Medium priority
Was volume growth from new products or existing products?
Asked by Bhavin Shira, Inam Holdings
Management confirmed volume growth came from existing products, not new launches.
Read the exchange
Question
Does part of the volume growth was uh adding a new product segment or your existing past product uh also have seen double digit volume growth.
Sahel (management)
So this is our base the existing business only uh bhavin. So as you said the new facilities are still ramping up and there was no major product launch in the quarter right so these were our existing portfolios
Quantitative claims vs filed numbers
| Claim | Management said | Filing | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDMO gross margin 37%+ this quarter vs 36.6% last Q3 | 37% | 12.7% | Overstated vs filing |
| EU contract annual revenue 35 million euro | 35 | 1,160 | Understated vs filing |
| Zambia contract $25 million revenue in CY26 and CY27 | 25 | 1,160 | Understated vs filing |
| International branded gross margin expanded to 35% from 25% | 35% | 12.7% | Overstated vs filing |
| AHL business EBITDA loss 17.9 crores in 9 months | ₹-17.9 cr | ₹147 cr | Understated vs filing |
Filed figures sourced from Screener.in. Claims within a small tolerance of the filing are marked “matches filing”.